A self-winding watch, also known as an automatic watch, is a mechanical watch in which the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to run the watch, making manual winding unnecessary. Such watch winds itself using a weight inside the watch that oscillates to put tension on the mainspring through the random motion of the watch wearer's arm. Generally, in a mechanical watch the watch's gears are turned by a spiral spring called a mainspring. In a manual watch energy is stored in the mainspring by turning a knob, the crown on the side of the watch, winding the mainspring. Then the energy from the mainspring powers the watch movement until it runs down, requiring the spring to be wound again. The self-winding watch movement has a mechanism which winds the mainspring using the natural motions of the wearer's body. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot. The normal movements of the watch in the user's pocket or on the user's arm cause the rotor to pivot on its staff, which is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The motion of the watch is thereby translated into circular motion of the weight which, through a series of reverser and reducing gears, eventually winds the mainspring.
Generally, the self-winding watches include a rotor and a reverser mechanism. The rotor is a semi-circular weight that is mounted on the movement, and is sometimes also known as the oscillating weight. The rotor swings through 360° thanks to the movements of the watch on the wrist. Through a series of gears, the movement of the rotor winds the mainspring which supplies the watch with mechanical energy. The reverser mechanism sits between the rotor and the gears, and enables the rotor to wind the mainspring no matter which way it turns. Various reverser mechanisms exist, the best-known being the pawl-winding system. This comprises two wheels, each made up of a top disc and a bottom disc. These discs are connected by a spring-less pawl that unclicks one wheel then the other depending on the direction of rotation.
When completely wound, the mainspring will generally have sufficient energy to run the watch for up to 12 to 48 hours, depending on the particular type of watch. Therefore, it will be appreciated that when the watch is not being worn for a sufficiently long period of time, the energy in the mainspring will tend to run down or completely dissipate. Once the spring is unwound, a self-winding watch generally cannot be fully rewound in a few seconds. The task of rewinding a self-winding watch can be a major inconvenience, as it may include resetting the time, dates and numerous other functions, or “complications,” each time the spring runs down. Often watch collectors and stores have multiple such watches which need to be wound, and thus the task becomes even more cumbersome when multiple watches are involved.
Some watch winders are known for keeping self-winding watches wound when not in use. Watch winders are mechanical devices that can simulate the aforesaid natural motion to keep the so-called “automatic watch” or “self-winding watch” that is stored in the watch winder operating smoothly for those who don't wear their watch every day and/or won't wear their watch for a long time. Various automatic watch-winders for keeping self-winding watches wound when not in use are currently available. A typical watch-winder, or so-called watch rotator, includes a motor-driven spindle, drum or other structure adapted to hold and rotate a watch about an axis. During rotation about an axis perpendicular to the watch face, for example, the pendulum of the watch will hang downwardly under gravity, and the watch will rotate about the stationary pendulum, causing the mainspring to stay wound.
Such commercial watch winders often require a significant effort on part of the user to place the watch for winding thereof. For a commercial winder, which holds the watch with a cushy pillow-like holder, the process is the following. First the user needs to untie/unlock the watch (e.g., from user's wrist). Then, the bracelet of the watch is put around the pillow. Thereafter, the bracelet is tied or locked around the pillow. If the watch bracelet has a mechanical closure, this step is relatively less cumbersome; however, if the watch has a buckle, this process can be hard, especially for people with diminished motor skills. Thereafter, the watch is wound in the watch winder and the process is reversed. That is, the bracelet is untied/unlocked from pillow, which again may be cumbersome for the user.
Therefore, there is a need of a simple apparatus for winding of an automatic watch, and which allows the watch to be placed therein with ease.